Come Hell or High Water
by my shangri-la
Summary: A FatF FBI case file AU where our guys are the good guys. Drama/Romance Eventual Dom/Letty & Brian/Mia
1. Chapter 1

_**Come Hell or High Water**_

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

 **Summary: A FatF FBI case file AU where our guys are the good guys. Drama/Romance ~Eventual Dom/Letty & Brian/Mia~**

 **Rating: M**

 _ **Chapter 1**_

Mia Toretto was at the courthouse downtown filing paperwork for a mediation when her cell phone received a text message, but it would be several hours before she could answer it.

A message that would sit idly in her phone, with no regard for how it could change lives.

' _Your brother is on a plane. He's coming back to L.A. Permanently.'_

In the meantime, Mia had to go back to the law firm she was working at and sit in a meeting about a new murder trial they were actually taking to court. _She_ _ **might**_ _take time to freak out_ _later_ _about her brother moving back from Washington D. C. where he'd been working for the last three years,_ _but right now her mind was elsewhere only trailing from work to ponder if she'_ _d_ _have enough_ _time_ _to schedule a manicure this week_ _._

It was four hours later, nearing seven-thirty when Mia finally got in her red Mazda CX-5, her day finally over, and checked her messages. The one from Letty took precedence over the voicemail from Planet Fitness about her gym membership renewal.

"Call Letty", Mia said to her bluetooth.

The phone rang through her car speakers.

" _Hey, Mia", Letty answered after the second ring._

"What the hell do you mean my brother is moving back to Los Angeles?" Mia exploded, forgoing a greeting. "What the hell kind of bomb is that to leave is my voicemail!"

" _Love you too, Mia", Letty said dryly._

"He called and told you?" Mia asked, lowering her voice.

 _Letty snorted. "Yeah, this morning. Right before he got on his plane. He's having the rest of his stuff shipped here. He's been planning this for a month apparently."_

" _Wow_ , I know my brother doesn't always think things through, but this is stupid, even for him. Umm, where exactly does he think he's living?"

" _Oh, don't worry. He's got an apartment ready for him." Letty's laugh was bitter. "It's been three years… he's not moving in with me and he knows it. I can't, Mia. Not after everything-"_

"I love you, Letty. No matter what happens. Now, order us a pizza and get out the vodka. We're going to need it."

" _Mia, you don't have to-"_

"Shut up. I'm crashing at your place tonight. I'll see you in twenty."

" _Love you."_

"Same."

0

Mia drove straight to Letty's apartment complex that was only ten minutes from her own. ( _It was a good thing it wasn't a longer drive. Her mind was reeling_ _with this new information.)_ She had clothes there if she didn't feel like going home to change in the morning. Mia took her black leather work purse that was big enough to hold her files with her when she got out of the car, and she took the stairs to the third floor and used her copy of the key to let herself into Letty's apartment.

"Letty?" she called. Apollo, Letty's white German shepherd greeted her at the front door, and she paused to scratch his jaw before kicking her shoes off. "Hi, buddy. Where's your mama, huh?" she murmured.

"On the balcony", Letty's reply came filtered through the opened double doors where Letty had a small office set up.

Mia heard a knock on the front door. "Pizza?" she questioned as she went to answer it.

"Yeah. I paid over the phone. Just give him a tip, will you?"

Mia had long given up on fighting with Letty which one of them would pay for dinner when. "Did you remember the garlic knots?" she asked teasingly.

"From Romero's? Of course. What kind of heathen do you think I am?"

Mia pulled her wallet out as she opened the door, trading a stack of boxes for cash. "Hey, Tim. Thanks."

"No problem, Mia."

Mia relocked the deadbolt and walked through the back of the house, Apollo following her, tail wagging lazily. "Two pizzas _and_ we're doubling down on the garlic knots?" she questioned skeptically, setting the boxes on the small table in between the patio chairs. "I don't need my own box."

"Sad girls need carbs", Letty said, raising a challenging eyebrow.

"Okay, that worked with various foods when we were in high school. But _this girl_ needs to fit into her work pants tomorrow", Mia said seriously.

"Don't worry. I'll help you get your pants zipped in the morning." Letty smirked. "I've done it before."

"Am I doing all the work while you sit here and mope?" Mia sighed.

"What work? We don't need plates. Go change out of your snooty work clothes, and grab the vodka from the freezer on the way back."

"I'm going to bring you back a tissue box because if you cry in my food I'll have to murder you", Mia growled. "Then I'll have to be my own damn lawyer and try to explain to a judge why it was a completely justified homicide."

"You've got your own pizza _and_ your own damn garlic knots. I can cry in my food if I want. Now go take out your bun, and remove that stick in your ass while your at it", Letty muttered snippily.

Mia smiled wryly and crouched down next to her sister-in-law of six years and best friend for over fifteen, winding her arm under Letty's on the chair's armrest. She got a quick lick on her cheek for her trouble, and she batted Apollo away gently, burying a laugh. "Letty… you are my very best friend. Even when you were ten and told me that Barbies sucked, you still couldn't get rid of me, could you?" she let out a watery laugh.

Letty groaned. "Everything was so _pink._ "

Mia grinned and pressed her forehead against Letty's shoulder. "Your hatred of pink is still well-documented", she promised, before sobering. "I love my older brother, Letty. Dom helped Dad take care of me when Mom died. Eventually… he went a little wild. I know Dad thought it was just a phase until he ended up getting picked up with Tran. You probably know how it happened better than I do."

"I remember. Your dad left him there for three days. When he found out what they were doing, he was so angry. I've never seen Tony so mad."

"Yeah. I never thought that after Dad told him he needed to get his act together that he would really be as focused on work as he ended up being..."

"Tony being that disappointed in Dom… it hurt him, Mia. He didn't want anyone to know that back then", Letty said quietly.

"So he ran away for a year and a half?"

"He didn't run away, Mia. You know that." Letty sighed. "The army saved his life. He's taken every opportunity given to him since then. I do understand why he took the job in D.C. I really do. It doesn't mean it doesn't hurt like hell that he chose to leave the life we had."

"I never thought my brother would be a career driven maniac", Mia snorted. "I still remember Vince yelling at him to get his face out of your cleavage during movie nights."

"Yeah, your dad loved hearing _that_ ", Letty laughed. "You hear from V lately?" she asked quietly.

"He's doing okay. He still likes Philly."

"Likes all the sandwiches", Letty joked mildly. _A_ _mong other things_ _..._

Mia nodded. "Pretty much. Letty, we made it through the last three years. I promise we'll make through whatever happens next. We'll be okay."

"You gonna kick Dom's ass for me, chica?"

"Yeah, I can take him." Mia flexed her left bicep playfully. "Or at least I can probably ask someone to dig up some old parking tickets", she kidded before sighing. "He left me too, Letty."

"I know, Mia", she said softly. "But I'm his wife."

Mia sat there in a few minutes in silence. "I promise to giggle if you kick him in the crotch this time… instead of asking if he needs an ambulance", she promised before standing up.

"To be fair… he _was_ making that dying cat noise", Letty snorted, hands running through the thick scruff on Apollo's neck as he rested his head in her lap.

"I'm going to change, and then we're going to eat and drink until we both regret it in the morning."

00

The next morning was grey with foreboding thunder approaching from off the coast. Letty and Mia were both up early, the news running in the background on the television like usual. Letty took Apollo for a three-mile run, and Mia showered before starting their breakfast and inhaling her first cup of coffee. Letty came back from her run, made sure the dog's food and water bowls were full before she got her own coffee, taking it into the bathroom with her to shower quickly. She and Mia sat at the breakfast bar and ate their eggs, toast, and small dishes of fruit mostly staying quiet while eating before continuing to get ready for work, both of them fighting good-naturedly over the mirror in Letty's master bathroom even though Mia could have used the guest bathroom to get ready. They'd spent spent their teen years getting ready side by side in the Toretto bathroom – which was much smaller – and it was still as easy as breathing. Mia took a quick call from her father while curling the ends or her hair. He was inviting her to family dinner which had Letty making throat-slicing hand motions to keep herself out of. Mia smirked and shook her head at her friend's lack of subtlety, but made an excuse for her anyway.

"No, Dad, Letty said her crotch-kicking days were over. I almost believe her", Mia finally said with a bit of amusement. "She loves you too. I'll see you at six-thirty."

Letty sighed and went to find a pair of shoes from her bedroom closet. _Sue her if she didn't want to play nice with Dominic at family dinner when she still kind of wanted to wrap her hands around his neck._ _Work would be another beast entirely, but if they were going to eventually figure out where they stood on a personal level, they needed to do so without an audience – well-meaning or not._

"Mia, have you seen my black raincoat?" she yelled as she zipped her black ankle boots.

"Check the front closet", Mia called back. "Almost ready?"

"Just finding a jacket that won't smell like wet dog when I get rained on", Letty muttered, passing her to dig in the small front closet by the door with a quick glance to Apollo who had left the end of her bed and was stretched out on the couch with his bone and his stuffed monkey to keep him company for the day. Letty hummed a happy noise of success as she finally found her elusive black raincoat that had red plaid lining and slid her arms into the sleeves. "Now I'm ready- Mia, what?" she demanded, turning to find herself being stared at quite oddly.

"Look at you, dressed all professional… brings tears to my eyes", Mia used a thumb to swipe at imaginary wetness.

Letty cocked an eyebrow. "That's getting really old, Toretto. I've been successfully dressing myself for years."

Mia grinned, giving her friend an obvious once over, taking in the dark washed skinny jeans and plain black long sleeve shirt under her grey buckled cardigan. "Lookin' good, Let."

"Shaddup. Now you sound like Dom. Jesus." Letty shook her head, but she was grinning. "Let's go before you cry all over your silk blouse and you have to borrow one of mine, you dork."

"Come on. We have to go be grownups again."

"And we kick ass doing it", Letty said with a nod as she grabbed her purse and briefcase from the barstool.

"As your lawyer, I have to advise you against physical contact", Mia said drolly.

"That's the fun part", Letty waggled her eyebrows.

"You can lecture me about 'fun physical contact' when you're not the one who's been celibate for an extended amount of time", Mia's eyes rolled as the walked out the door, her purse dangling from her arm, as Letty locked the deadbolt with her key. "And no, your vibrator doesn't count." There was a _tsking_ noise from up the landing and Mia winced. "Sorry, Mrs. Harrison."

Letty buried a grin. "That woman may be nearing eighty, but she's just jealous."

Mia elbowed her hard. " _Hush._ She has ears like a bat."

Letty's laughter escaped as she pushed Mia toward the stairs. "C'mon, we're gonna be late."

00

It was such a long day for Mia, she almost forgot that her evening was going to likely cause an emotional breakdown in one way or another. _Almost._

Letty did not have that luxury.

Deputy Director Hobbs called her into his office within her first hour of work – blessedly interrupting her mind-numbing rewriting of a case file that had been corrupted in the system – and asked her if she was aware Dom was coming back to work in their building. When Letty said 'yes', he asked if there was going to be problems at work.

Letty shrugged. "Dom and I are essentially separated... But we've always been professional at work. I don't see that changing."

Hobbs sighed wearily and rubbed his forehead. "I don't do this PR sharing and caring bullshit for a reason", he grumbled. "Why did I take this job?"

Letty smirked and leaned back in her chair a bit lazily. "I'll get you some Pamprin."

"Skip the lady drugs and make it a bottle of scotch. I'm elbow-deep in paperwork and it's half your fault."

She snorted. "Bitch, bitch."

"Were you keeping tabs on him in D.C.?" Hobbs asked seriously.

Letty took a deep breath and sighed. "I heard enough." _He'd done a lot of good, but he'd become known for his recklessness._

"I can't let him fly loose out here, Letty. You know that I appreciate a take-no-prisoners attitude, but there's throwing out the rulebook in the field, and then there's setting it on fire."

"You can't put him behind a desk, Luke. He'll lose it", she said.

"I wasn't planning on it. He needs a partner."

"Who the hell- oh, shit." Her eyes were wide in shock.

Hobbs arched an eyebrow. "Now who needs Pamprin?"

Letty folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. "This is going to blow up right in your face. When's he coming in?"

"Early Monday to sign the transfer papers."

She nodded. "Okay. I'll get out of your… office", her mouth twitched.

Hobbs ignored her. "Let me know if you need anything, alright?"

Letty grinned. "Dangerous offer, Luke. Isn't that how you ended up in this office?"

"Regretting it already", he muttered. "Get out of here", he muttered. "I have _paperwork_ to do."

00

Mia luckily got to leave work on time. The last thing she needed was another lecture from her father on how she was being over-worked like a hamster running in it's wheel on top of her already growing anxiety about her brother's return. She loved Dom. He'd been a large focal point of her world when they'd grown up with a widowed father, and she'd idolized him… but he'd caused some damage when he'd left.

 _Both times._

God, she'd missed him.

Mia drove the forty minutes from her law firm in the city downtown to the home where she'd grown up in Echo Park. She let the drive and the music relax her. She pulled the pins out of her hair at a stop light and rolled her front windows down. Mia pushed her black cat-framed sunglasses up and thought back to the days when she and Dom used to play gin to figure out who had to do which free chores their father had listed for the week. _The free chores were the ones that they were allowed to fight amongst themselves to decide each week._ _When Letty was in_ _clud_ _ed it got more complicated than just a game of gin._ _Usually it involved scratches and bloodshed._

She pulled her SUV into her father's driveway before she could get too emotional reminiscing about the past. Mia did a quick check in the mirror to get rid of any smeared makeup under her eyes before grabbing her small bag that had a change of clothes and her purse as she climbed out of the car, setting the alarm and dropping her keys into her bag as she walked purposefully up the driveway. There was a black Charger in the driveway that Mia assumed was Dom's new car. It still boggled her mind that her brother had spent the majority of his time in D.C. not driving.

 _Her brother. Not **driving.**_

She was still waiting on an explanation for that, or anything that gave her a clue about what her brother was thinking when he'd left Letty and gone to D.C., but it wouldn't be forthcoming, and she knew it. She also knew it wasn't very practical for him to keep a car in the city, it just made her brain short out a bit thinking about Dom without a car.

The front door opened and Dominic stepped onto the front porch as her foot hit the bottom step. Mia had been awake since before five, and the power of her four coffees was running low after spending all day on her feet, but the sight of her brother after so long made her mouth stretch into a wide smile.

"Mia, look at you." He grinned at her.

She bit her tongue hard against the chatter that wanted to tumble from her lips, and jogged up the steps to find herself wrapped in a tight hug. "I missed you", she managed to get out, muffled against his shoulder.

00

 **A/N: Well, this was chapter one guys!** **Let me know what you think! I'm excited for this!**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Come Hell or High Water**_

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

 **Summary: A FatF FBI case file AU where our guys are the good guys. Drama/Romance ~Eventual Dom/Letty & Brian/Mia~**

 **Rating: M**

 _ **Chapter 2**_

 _Previously:_

 _The front door opened and Dominic stepped onto the front porch as her foot hit the bottom step. Mia had been awake since before five, and the power of her four coffees was running low after spending all day on her feet, but the sight of her brother after so long made her mouth stretch into a wide smile._

" _Mia, look at you." He grinned at her._

 _She bit her tongue hard against the chatter that wanted to tumble from her lips, and jogged up the steps to find herself wrapped in a tight hug. "I missed you", she managed to get out, muffled against his shoulder._

00

Mia followed Dom into the house, and went into the kitchen to greet her father. She got a hug and a kiss on the cheek before excusing herself to go upstairs to her old bedroom to change out of her work clothes.

It didn't take long for Mia to change out of her dress slacks, suit jacket and blouse, and into a red Athletic Dept. t-shirt and a pair of white wash jeans. She slid on a pair of black flip flops and folded her clothes and slid them into her bag, laying the jacket on the bed so it wouldn't get wrinkled.

She brushed out her hair quickly in front of her small vanity dresser and put it in a loose ponytail. She sighed and went downstairs.

Her father was still in the kitchen when Mia returned. She could see Dom out the kitchen window by the grill. "What are we having for dinner?" she asked curiously as she opened the fridge and helped herself to a beer.

"There are ribs on the grill."

"I'm starving. Can I help with something?"

"You work too hard."

"Dad, I'm a junior partner. That requires a certain amount of ass-busting", Mia said wryly. "Besides, you're still the hardest worker I know. I get it from you." _Plus the rest of her student loans she was still paying for. Even with the scholarships she'd gotten, it hadn't covered everything._

"Compliments will get you a free pass for the night", Tony said, shaking his head. "At least my other daughter comes and visits me at the garage."

Mia toasted her father, burying a grin like she always did when her father called Letty his daughter. "I'd like to see anyone try to keep Letty away from cars, Daddy. I miss you too", she added earnestly.

Her father looked out the kitchen window into the backyard where Dominic was guarding the ribs on the grill. "Glad to have your brother home?"

"Of course I am" Mia said quietly. "I wish he'd never left."

"He missed you too, sweetheart. You know he did."

"I know… He didn't even tell me he was coming back." _She felt like she didn't even know him anymore. And besides Letty, her brother had always been her favorite person. That distance hurt._ Mia sighed and shook her head, letting it go for the time-being. "Alright, I'll fix the salad while you finish the potatoes."

"Check the oven first. I smell the garlic bread."

She gave her father a grateful smile for letting her get away with her terrible distraction tactics. "Me too. I think it's done." She grabbed the tray of garlic bread from the oven and turned it off. "You know… if you hadn't insisted we all learned to cook, Letty and I wouldn't have moved out to finish college", Mia said with a grin as she chopped the vegetables with a precision that always concerned Letty in a 'professional capacity', and threw them into the large mixing bowl with the greens.

Her father's loud booming laugh warmed a cold spot inside of her, reminding her of what family was supposed to feel like. They hadn't stopped family dinners just because her brother had been gone, not even when Vince had moved six months later, but the hole had been gaping, even though Letty's presence hadn't wavered. _Mia wouldn't lie. She was usually late to dinner because of work. Her dad loved her enough to save her a plate – her family tended to eat like ravenous lions. And it was those nights she couldn't hide her exhaustion, that her father's concern for her well-being grew._

"You two still sneak over here just to make dessert in the middle of the night and order take-out", her father raised a judging eyebrow.

"The Netflix comes in better here?" Mia said sheepishly.

Tony snorted. "Even I know better than that."

"You spoil us with Sunday breakfast!" she protested with a laugh.

"That's because I love my girls", he said with a grin. "Even when they bring strays home."

Mia groaned. "That's Letty's fault."

Her father just shook his head at her. "Are you ready to go outside now?"

Mia fussed with putting the garlic bread in the basket and covered it to keep warm and put the lid on the salad bowl, stacking them together. "I'll take these outside and come back for the plates and silverware."

0

It was nearing nine o'clock, and Mia knew she'd have to go home soon if she had any chance of being functional for work tomorrow. But she had enjoyed the peace that had come with having this time with her father and brother, celebrating Dominic's homecoming before all the family drama began. Letty may have been able to turn her gift of reading people into a job, but Mia knew her family.

 _Torettos never took the path of least resistance._

She and Dom had cleaned up after dinner, waving their father into the living room to catch the evening news. When the kitchen was clean, she followed her brother out to sit on the front porch. They'd both traded their beer for water, knowing they had to drive home.

"Are you glad you're home?" Mia asked quietly, staring out towards her car parked in the street.

He tilted his head in her direction consideringly. "Did you think I didn't want to be here?"

"I think that doesn't answer my question", she muttered a bit crankily. _Mia had wondered often over the last few years how Dom could have taken the offer of a promotion that required him to move to D.C. She wondered how Letty had let him. But her brother and his wife had kept any problems they may have had completely silent. Mia had felt a bit of tension between them the year before Dom had moved away, but it had been_ _ **nothing**_ _that prepared her for the day Letty and Dom sat her and their father down in the Toretto kitchen and told them that Dom was taking a job in Washington, D.C. - and that Letty was staying behind._

He bumped her shoulder gently. "I missed you."

"I missed you too."

It took a few minutes of silence before Dom asked her the completely expected, burning question. "How is she?"

"I think you should ask her that", Mia said carefully. "She might be more forgiving than me", she shrugged before bumping his shoulder harder. "But I'm just guessing."

A ghost of a smile crossed his face. "Maybe there are still shin guards in the attic", he muttered thoughtfully.

00

Late Saturday morning Letty was unpacking a box that her mother had sent from New Jersey – supposedly Letty's early birthday present. _Three months early._ She hadn't had time to open it during the week. Letty was digging in the over-sized box in the middle of her living room floor when there was a knock on her front door.

She got up with a sigh. Letty opened her door and was face to face with Dominic Toretto for the first time in over a year. _The last time they'd seen each other had been at Tony's house because he'd flown in to surprise Mia for her birthday, and it had been awkward as hell._ Her mouth inexplicably dropped open. She shouldn't have been surprised. Her husband was nothing if not full of bold moves.

She closed her mouth, realizing he was giving her a blatant once-over.

Finally he met her wry gaze. "Letty."

"Hi, Dom."

There was a rustling noise behind her, and Letty whipped her head around. "Apollo!"

Her dog had his head inside the box from her mother. When she called his name, Apollo pulled his head out, he had a bunch of packing peanuts statically attached to his fur of his face.

She snorted. "Jesus. You troublemaker. Get out of that", Letty laughed.

Apollo seemed to realize they had company then, and went to sit at her feet next to the door.

Letty stared down incredulously, a hand on her hip. "Do you think you're intimidating right now? Go look in a mirror. You're a mess."

He sneezed in response and two of the Styrofoam peanuts flew to the floor.

"Honestly", she sighed.

"Clearly you're in a new relationship", Dom said, sounding a bit amused.

"Yeah, well, he's a lot more high-maintenance with his hair, so that's different", she smirked. "You wanna come in?" she asked quietly. _Her dog was a great wing-man, letting her get her bearings. She'd give him a treat later._

"You got a minute?"

She nodded.

And suddenly her husband was in her apartment and the front door was shut.

Letty gestured to the breakfast bar and led Apollo into the kitchen and opened the drawer hiding the garbage so she could pick all the peanuts off her dog. She crouched in front of him. "You would make me groom you like a monkey, wouldn't you, you big baby", she scolded mildly, getting a lick across her face for her trouble. "Yeah, yeah. You're adorable, you little shit."

"Apollo?" Dom asked.

"Yeah. I rescued him right after I moved in here", she shrugged, picking off the last few pieces and throwing them away.

Dom nodded. "It's a nice place."

"I got it for a steal. Somebody died here."

His eyes widened briefly, before she snorted.

"I'm kidding. It was a good deal though." _The lease on the apartment they'd had together had ended four months after Dom had moved away. When Letty had called him then, she told him if he wasn't going to come back, she didn't want to stay there anymore. They'd decided not to renew the lease, and Dominic had – essentially – given her his blessing to find a new place. They'd spent a long night on the phone, and they both decided that for the time being, where they were at right now had been the right decision._ Letty raised an eyebrow. "Did you think this would be _less_ awkward than just seeing each other at work?"

He let out a puff of laughter. "Maybe… it's not, is it?"

"I don't think so", she shook her head.

"I still wanted to see you", he said quietly.

"Full disclosure? I got lectured by Hobbs that we're not allowed to bring our drama into the workplace", Letty said, failing not to sound amused.

"I can top that", Dom promised. "But first, I gotta say, I didn't ever expect that Hobbs would be a paper pusher… or my boss."

"He's good at what he does", Letty said quietly. "We needed someone who wouldn't take shit from anyone after what happened."

Dom shrugged. "I got the lecture from Dad", he said after a minute. "Apparently, you're not allowed to miss anymore family dinners or he'll put the fear of God in both of us."

"I talked to him Friday afternoon", she said a bit incredulously. "He didn't say anything like that to me."

"Lulling you into a false sense of security?" Dom shrugged. _His father had kicked Mia out of the house to yell at him and Letty when they'd dropped the startling news that they were separating, and Dom was moving to D.C. Tony being_ _ **unhappy**_ _had been an understatement._ "You know he prefers to give lectures in person."

"So… what do you want to do?" Letty asked quietly.

Dom looked at her consideringly. "What we do best… roll with the punches."

00

Late Sunday afternoon, Letty sent out a bat signal. It took half an hour for her phone to ring.

" _I feel like I should ask how you get my phone to do that… but I don't want to know."_

Letty snorted. _There were many bonuses to being friends with the tech guy at work._ "Get over here. Dinner's at six. It's movie night."

" _I'm not going to get stuck watching **27 Dresses** again, am I?" he asked warily._

"No", she laughed. "It's my turn to pick the movie."

" _Thank god. I can't deal with you and Mia trying to sing 'Benny and the Jets' and standing on the counter again. I'm not letting you make Fireballs ever again."_

"Okay, you weren't supposed to record that."

" _You want me to grab anything on my way over?"_

Letty hummed thoughtfully. "Just stop at that bakery Mia likes? And get your ass over here so we can watch Thor swing his Hammer."

" _Capital H?"_

He was laughing at her.

"Respect the Hammer!"

" _You know what they say. Big hammer, tiny-"_

"Brian!"

" _What's for dinner, Let?"_

"Nothing for you, if you don't stop sassing me", she joked. "There's pulled pork in the crock pot."

" _Sounds good. I'll see you in an hour. I owe Kara a phone call before I head out so she stops texting me."_

"Tell them both Mia and I say hello."

He grumbled, but agreed.

Letty bit her lip in amusement that both Brian and Mia were equally annoyed with this situation – for vastly different reasons. Mia Toretto could hold a grudge – _that,_ she'd learned from her brother. She was still annoyed over the bad breakup between her and Vince. It had ended four years ago, and they'd only tried dating for six months, but after Dom had left, it hadn't taken Vince long to decide he wasn't going to stay in L.A. Mia had taken the abandonment harder than expected. She grumbled about him having to move thousands of miles away to be happy, but only meant it on really bad days. Mostly she blamed herself for being so neurotic and focused on college and then work.

 _Letty_ blamed them both for being too stupid to realize they should have just kept their relationship platonic, but she didn't say it to their faces.

Brian… well, he was annoyed that his older sister was dating _Vince._ The two males hated each other less now, Letty would even say they liked each other. But they lived to annoy each other, usually through texting since there was an entire country between them. _Brian usually just said that Vince was less of a punk than he used to be._

0

Mia answered the familiar knock on Letty's door, Apollo trotting behind her letting out a happy bark. "Yeah, yeah", she muttered with a wry grin. "Your best friend is here." The door barely opened before the usually well-trained dog was trying to wiggle his way through the crack, and Mia had to grab his collar.

She heard the laugh on the other side of the door, and Brian's leg was blocking the doorway. "I got it Mia."

"This is your fault", she grumbled, letting the door open enough so he could get in. She took his grocery bags right before paws landed on his shoulders. Mia's eyes rolled as Brian continued cooing at Letty's dog.

"Who missed uncle Brian? Yes, you did, yes, you did."

Mia rolled her eyes. "Oh, you two are disgusting."

"Most epic love story happening in this apartment", Brian retorted.

"Sad but true", Letty acknowledged wryly, coming out of her bedroom where she'd had to search for a ponytail to put her hair up.

"Not for lack of trying", Mia grumbled.

"Pete 'what's-his-face' was not you trying to date", Brian shook his head, a bit amused, finally crouching down as Apollo rolled on his back for a belly rub.

"Women also have needs", Mia said primly. "Unless you're Letty apparently."

"'Letty' is married", Letty said sharply. "To your brother, if you forgot. I was raised by your father too, Mia. I know you wouldn't really be okay with me just going out and finding random guys to hook up with."

Mia winced. "He was the one who left, Letty. I don't know if I could really judge you for what you decided to do after that."

"I didn't ask him to stay."

" _What?_ "

Letty sighed. "I didn't ask him to stay, Mia, When he got that job offer… I should have, maybe… but I couldn't. And I don't think he thought I needed him back then. We were both so independent- our personalities and our careers", she went into the kitchen to unpack the grocery bags that Mia had set on the counter, and held up a box of peanut butter bones to distract herself. "Really?"

Brian didn't bother to look guilty even in the face of her disdainful arched eyebrow. He just grinned. "No one else in this apartment greets me by jumping into my arms."

"Yeah, I'll get right on that", Letty deadpanned. "You're spoiling him."

"I'm his Dog-father."

"You two are so awful, I can't", Mia complained, fingers pressed to her temples, looking at the despairingly.

Letty smirked. "Alright, dinner's about done. Brian, put that stuff in the fridge. Mia, he brought you pie, so be nice and get out the plates. Somebody make sure the bottle of bourbon is full."

"She's kind of bossy", Mia hissed to Brian.

"Pretty sure this is why the Haskels in 4B downstairs think we're some kind of threesome. Ted thinks it's 'cool and progressive', Lisa thinks it's 'super inappropriate'", he imitated the woman's high nasally voice.

Mia looked downright scandalized, but Letty laughed so hard she dropped the two-pronged plastic fork on the floor that she had been using to finish shredding the rest of the pork. Apollo managed to grab it, dodging Brian who ended up on the kitchen floor, and he got to lick it clean before anyone could get it back because they were all laughing too hard.

0

"Are his pants made out of husband material? 'Cause I'd marry that ass."

Brian snorted, mouth twitching into a smirk.

Letty reached over and took Mia's glass. "Okay, babe. you've had enough. When you start dropping bad pick up lines, it's time to let go of the liquor."

Mia shot her an offended look. "My pick-up lines worked in college."

"No, honey, they didn't. You just have a pretty face", Letty teased.

"I am more than a pretty face, Letty Ortiz!" she argued irately.

Brain was shaking, holding in his laughter next her, and Letty dug her elbow into his ribs. "I know, Mia. You're a badass lawyer. But it's time for you to go to bed."

Mia frowned. "I'm sleeping in. I don't have to be there 'til ten tomorrow. Don't try to confuse me."

Letty grinned. "Actually you do. I got you an appointment with Selena at eight."

Mia gasped, a bit dramatically. "How'd you know!?"

"You wouldn't stop picking at your nails."

Mia flung her arms around Letty's neck, nearly whacking Brian in the head. "I love you! You're the best!"

"Yeah, yeah", Letty grunted, a bit strangled. "To bed with you."

Mia let go of her death grip on Letty's neck to kiss Brian's cheek. "Good luck tomorrow, both of you. Everything will be fine. Brian, you and Dom should get along fine. Just do me a favor and keep Letty out of trouble."

Mia got up then and went to the guest bedroom that may as well have been hers, either missing or ignoring the incredulous look on Letty's face.

"Has she met her brother?" Letty asked a bit in audibly. "Dom doesn't play nice with others… hell, neither do _you._ You two are gonna rub each other the wrong way like angry porcupines."

Brian raised an eyebrow. "I'm nice."

"You forget that I know you", she narrowed her eyes. "Look, you don't have to- Dom doesn't have any respect for fake people. Kissing his ass is the stupidest thing anyone can do. He believes in respect being earned."

"Is he as good at reading people as you are?"

"Dom and Mia's dad… he's the best judge of character I know. When my dad left when I was nine, I wasn't really big on anyone keeping promises… Tony taught me how to decide for myself if a person could be trusted, not just by words or actions. Dominic definitely inherited his father's talent."

Brian turned a calculating look in her direction – the one mostly reserved for criminals on the other side of the interview table after his overly-friendly smile didn't soften them into talking. "Are you going to be okay tomorrow?"

Her eyes rolled. "I'm tougher than I look."

"That's not something I've ever doubted."

Letty pushed herself off the couch, and stared as Apollo immediately left the floor, taking her spot. "Staying out here, are you?" she asked, biting back amusement. He made a huffing, sleepy noise and stared back at her. "Traitor", she muttered, shaking her head. "Night, O'Conner."

Brian snorted and got up to grab a blanket and pillow before pointing to the end of the couch. "Scoot over, dude."

"Don't call my dog 'dude'."

Apollo was overly familiar with this shuffle and moved to the end of the couch so Brian could lay down. Brian shrugged. "Night, Letty."

00

The next morning was a hustle. Letty and Brian went running with Apollo, doing what they always did, which was make each other run until they felt like collapsing, taking the dog back home halfway through. Mia had taken her shower and gotten ready while they were gone. She'd run the coffee machine, but Brian always kicked her out of the kitchen the mornings after he crashed at their apartment.

Ten minutes in and out of the shower while Letty fed the dog, found her work clothes, and turned on the news had Brian back in the kitchen.

"What's breakfast?" Letty yelled before she closed her bedroom door.

"Monte Cristos", he called back.

Letty groaned. "We just ran a marathon, and you're telling me _now_ there was no point?"

"Hurry up. We're leaving in an hour."

"I'm driving!"

"I control the radio", Brian said seriously. "I can't go into work again with Beyoncè stuck in my head. I'm all for women empowerment, but I draw the line at having to explain why I'm humming ' _Who Runs the World (Girls)_ ' to Hobbs… _again._ "

Mia laughed as she walked into the living room and perched on the arm of the couch. "She does like to torture you, doesn't she?"

"She says she's taking her sisterly duties very seriously", Brian rolled his eyes. "How's your headache?"

"Someone needs to keep an eye on you!" Letty yelled.

"Get in the shower, Miss 'I can live on a granola bar and an apple all day long'!"

Her bedroom door slammed.

Mia raised an eyebrow. "Could be worse."

"How so?"

"I don't have to work with Letty when she has a hangover." She smirked.

00

"Late night, kids?" Hobbs raised an eyebrow, looking down judgingly from the top of the stairs, arms folded over his chest.

Letty glared from under her sunglasses, making him laugh. "Sshhh", she insisted. "Luke, I need more coffee, if you're gonna make god-like noises", she said, sounding wounded.

Brian choked back a laugh. _Letty's hangover was nearly nonexistent, but they both still looked like hell, so she'd insisted on going for the pity vote. She was the office unicorn and could get away with it. A unicorn that would kick him in the balls for calling her that._

"Okay, you're useless. Good to know", Hobbs rolled his eyes. "Go take a nap. I'll wake you if something important happens."

"Do I get paid for that?" she asked, sounding innocently curious.

"Go _away_. O'Conner, my office."

"Uh..."

Hobbs gave Letty a long-suffering look. "If you need carried up the stairs, I'm sending you home."

She started laughing then, and Hobbs was heading down the stairs at a leisurely pace. A burst of speed had her taking the stairs past him to the second floor to get to her office.

"You're going to end up with extra paperwork for that!" he called after her.

"No, she won't."

Hobbs rolled his eyes at Brian. "Of course she won't."

"It was the six mile run this morning that pushed her over the edge", Brian snickered.

"I thought I was running the FBI, not babysitting some over-competitive kindergartners."

Brian just shrugged, following Hobbs down the right hallway, the opposite direction from Letty's office. "Either way it's a solid resumé."

"How'd I get stuck with this job", Hobbs muttered opening his office.

"You don't want to know", Brian said honestly. _So many favors had been called in._ _ **So many.**_ _After getting rid of a mole th_ _at_ _was leaking government data due to a security breach in the head of office administration, the previous Deputy Director, Odessa James, had been fired. Letty still had nightmares about having a gun held to her head by_ _the woman who had hired her_ _._ _She'd gotten lucky to only need a few stitches when it was over._

 _L_ _etty had called in every favor she'd had in her career to get someone in the office that they could trust to oversee the department._ _Brian had been shocked to see what she'd been able to pull out of her back pocket._

 _It was right after that_ _though_ _, they had a murder case go upside-down. They couldn't_ _even_ _prove it was murder, but they were certain that a killer had gone free. Letty's guilt haunted her. As a criminal psychologist, she'd been certain during an interview that she'd stared into the eyes of a murderer. But even the autopsy couldn't prove it._

The extra heavy door closed, bringing Brian back to the present, and he realized there was someone waiting in Hobbs' office.

"Toretto", Hobbs said, "Brian O'Conner."

"O'Conner, Dominic Toretto...your new partner."

To be fair, Hobbs was at least _trying_ not to sound like he thought this was funny.

Brian still whipped his head around incredulously. "Are you fucking kidding?"

"Not even a little."

Brian tipped his head sideways, jaw clenched. "Nothing personal, Toretto. But I've made my position on working alone pretty clear."

"So have I", Dom said quietly.

"See the nameplate on my desk?" Hobbs asked ironically. "It means I'm the boss. You two have a month to figure out how to work together."

"If it doesn't work-"

"If it doesn't work, you'll both go see Jeannie. No getting out of it. Consider it couples therapy", Hobbs smirked. "Both of you get out of my office. Brian, take Toretto to his desk."

 _Brian forgot that sometimes Hobbs was a dick._

00

 **A/N: **evil laughter** Was anyone expecting that? Anyone? This is so fun! Let me know what you think! The next chapter will be a slight time jump to get this story rolling in the direction I want.**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Come Hell or High Water**_

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

 **Summary: A FatF FBI case file AU where our guys are the good guys. Drama/Romance ~Eventual Dom/Letty & Brian/Mia~**

 **Rating: M**

 _ **Chapter 3**_

 _Six weeks later:_

Letty looked up from her files, realizing her top right drawer had open and shut. "Did you just- give that back!"

"Yours is better", he said unrepentantly before tossing the small tube of hand lotion back to her.

"Well, you're an HR nightmare", Letty said dryly.

Brian shrugged easily. "You still love me."

"I don't know about that. Love is a strong word", she said with a smirk. "I'd lean more towards 'strongly tolerate'."

"Lies", he grinned.

Letty groaned and tossed a green Sharpie from her pen holder at him.

"I feel unsafe in my workplace!" Brian yelped immediately, dodging out of reach of the flying object.

"You're supposed to be scared of me", she grumbled.

"One, you're easy to bribe with food. Two, I've seen you in your ducky pajama pants", he teased as he lowered himself into the chair across from her desk.

"I hate you so much", she shook her head fondly. Letty looked up and gave him a quick once-over, noting the tie he'd nearly ripped loose from his neck. She quirked an eyebrow. "How was therapy?" she drawled.

"How was therapy?" Brian repeated grimly. "How was my therapy with _your_ husband?" he glared. "Why don't _you_ go to therapy with Dom and tell me how it goes."

"That bad?" she asked lazily, blue pen spinning through her fingers, smirk playing at her mouth. "Dom and I don't have to go to the in-house therapist because we behave professionally at work."

"I hate this shit", Brian growled. "And you can quit finding this funny any week now."

"Did you really think they'd let you get away with bullshitting another psychologist?" Letty asked quietly.

He glared at her, looking a bit sullen. And if it wasn't such a serious situation she would tease him for pouting.

She sighed. "It wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't _not_ my fault", he said grimly.

"Did you want me to pull you out of your river of guilt, or drown you in it?" Letty glared back. "This isn't helping anything. And she wouldn't have wanted it."

He stood up. "I'm going to get lunch. I'll bring you something back."

Letty shook her head as he left – _bribing her with food –_ thinking back to the event that had planted Brian firmly into their lives.

00

 _Two years and four months ago:_

 _Mia was waiting in her car in the back of the parking lot of Letty's work building. Mia had driven her to work this morning, and they were going to head out to Echo Park for the weekend. Her bag was settled next to Letty's in the trunk. She glanced over her shoulder and into the backseat at Letty's new puppy. Apollo was lying on his blanket on the seat, eating the stuffing out of a pink pig._

" _You are very handsome", Mia said to him with a sigh._

 _He looked at her with his head cocked, and she reached back to pet his ears._

" _New - very cute – puppy, new apartment… do you understand your mommy, Apollo?" Mia asked quietly. "I don't right now. Let me know if you find anything out in obedience classes. I hear those are going well."_

 _Apollo went back to snarling playfully as he ripped white, cloud-like tufts out of fluff from the stomach of his ripped pig._

 _Mia glanced over when she saw the glass doors opening, Letty walking out, talking to a man half a step behind her. Mia's eye's narrowed, studying the tall, brown-haired man with a bit of scruff on his face wearing ripped jeans, and a dark green t-shirt that looked a bit too small even on his wiry frame. **She had a feeling he'd be taller when he wasn't hunching his shoulders.**_

 _Letty's eyes tracked the parking lot until she found Mia's car. Mia watched the man be tugged gently by the elbow as Letty headed over._

 _Mia turned on the car and rolled down the passenger window as they approached. "Call for a taxi?" she asked._

" _Hey, Mia", Letty grinned._

 _Apollo heard Letty's voice and jumped between the seats to stick his head out the window to great his owner._

 _Letty cooed at him at picked him up through the open window. "Hi, baby. Were you a good boy for auntie Mia?"_

 _Mia's eyes rolled. "He stayed out of my shoe closet this time. Letty, are you going to introduce me to your friend?"_

" _Mia, this is Brian. Brian, this is my sister-in-law Mia… and this is Apollo."_

 _There was a slight smirk on his face as he said, "Yeah, he looks like you. Nice to meet you, Mia."_

" _You too", she said mildly._

 _And then Letty was handing Apollo over. "Hold a puppy. It'll be good for you", she muttered under her breath._

 _Brian got a few licks to his face for his trouble. "You're going to be in trouble when he's full-grown and still wants to be carried, Letty", he smirked slightly eyeing the long, lanky legs and over-sized paws of the eight-month old puppy._

 _She shrugged. "Probably."_

" _I should let you get out of here", he said quietly, handing Apollo back to her and she put him back in the car._

" _Do you need anything-?"_

" _Funeral's Wednesday", he said shortly. "I'm on leave for at least two weeks."_

" _I'll be there", she said quietly._

" _You don't have to-"_

" _Shut up, O'Conner", she muttered. "Go home and get some sleep." **Sleep wouldn't come easy, she knew, but he could stand to try if the dark circles under his eyes could talk.** "Go eat something that isn't a bagel", Letty said, pulling out her stern voice. "You've been stuck here for two days."_

" _Yeah, okay", was the grumbled response before he ducked to lean in the window. "Mia, it was nice to meet you", he repeated quietly._

" _It was nice to meet you too, Brian."_

 _Brian left, going to his own car near the back of the parking lot while Letty shoved Apollo into the backseat where he was supposed to be, and settled in the front next to Mia looking a bit ill._

" _Funeral", Mia asked inaudibly, before shifting to drive._

 _Letty let out a pained breath that sounded like a hiss. "His partner, Trisha Langston, was killed in the line of duty. I'll check on him Monday."_

 _Mia winced. **People often mistook Mia for the more compassionate of the two, but if Letty was already reigning in her mother-hen tendencies, Mia was just along for the ride.** **She'd ask when Letty had met this 'Brian O'Conner' a little later.** "I'll make something", she said quietly. She didn't think that man was meant to be that skinny._

" _I don't know that a casserole will fix this, Mia", Letty sighed a bit worriedly._

00

Two weeks later:

Brian was about to take a file upstairs to Hobbs when his desk phone rang, and he leaned over and grabbed it. "O'Conner."

"Brian, I need you to come down to the morgue." It was Rachel.

"You've got a body?"

There was a sigh. "You need to see this."

"On my way."

 _Hobbs could wait._

Brian dropped the files back in his drawer and locked it. "Toretto, we're going downstairs", he said, passing his partner's desk.

Dom looked up from his desk. "Morgue?"

"Come on."

They took the elevator to the basement floor where the morgue was located.

Brian opened the door at the end of the hall and a woman in a white lab coat with dark, square glasses and blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail looked up from her clipboard.

"Rach, you said you've got a body?" Brian glanced over to the body that was covered on by the sheet on the table to his right.

She cocked a pointed eyebrow. "Not a one quite as menacing as the once you've brought with you, but maybe more troublesome."

"Lee was in while you were gone", Brian sighed. "Rachel Langston, Dominic Toretto."

"Thank you", she said with an eye roll that was clearly judging his lack of manners. _Several years back, he might have made a smart-ass comment about all the women in his life harassing him, but after_ _Trisha's_ _death, he preferred to keep things more impersonal between them._ _It didn't matter that she'd been clear that she didn't hold him responsible for what had happened to her sister. Trisha had been his partner. It was still his responsibility._

"Who's on the table?" Dom asked.

Rachel moved around the table and pulled the sheet back enough to see the victim's face.

Brian cursed, and Dominic looked over. "You know her?"

Brian looked up grimly. "Her name is Molly Kilpatrick. Where was her body found?"

"An abandoned shopping center near Rochester. Right now, I'm going to tentatively say that her death was caused by a blow to the head… but don't say that to the family."

Brian groaned. "Have they been notified?"

"They were sending someone out to find her husband."

"Great."

"Who's telling Letty?" Rachel asked carefully.

"I will", Brian muttered darkly. "If we have to re-open that case-" Brian snapped his mouth shut. That case had been a nightmare… for various reasons.

"It wasn't my fault someone probably paid off the coroner to sign the death certificate. It was out of my hands once the autopsy said it was a heart attack."

"Rachel… get us some DNA, okay? And let Hobbs know who the victim is in case he needs to do damage control. Dom… let's go get Letty."

0

Letty was almost ready to leave for work when her cell phone rang. She'd taken a late morning and gone to yoga and then brunch with Mia. Mia was still at her apartment while she got ready.

"Letty, Brian's calling your phone."

"Answer it."

Mia shrugged and swiped her thumb across the screen. "Brian, it's Mia", she answered.

" _Mia, you're with Letty?"_

"'Hello' to you too", she raised an eyebrow. "We're at her place."

" _Sorry, Mia. Look something came up at work. Can you take the baby?"_

Mia's eyes crossed. "Did you just refer to Letty's dog as 'the baby'?" _It was bad enough when Letty did it._ She could hear her brother's voice in the background, clearly asking a similar question.

" _We're going to be working some late hours for this one, Mia", he sighed. "Take Apollo home with you, please."_

Letty reached over and took the phone from her then. "What's going on, O'Conner?"

" _Dead body. I'm with Dom. We're on our way to pick you up."_

She sighed. "I'll get my stuff."

00

Dom's glare would have set a normal person on _fire_.

Brian ignored him. Without warning, and barely using his blinker, he swung into the Starbucks drive-through.

"I hate your driving", Dominic growled.

"Bring it up in therapy", Brian said a bit snarkily. _This was not a new conversation._

Staring at the three-car line, Dom's glare grew stronger. "We don't have time for this."

Brian raised an eyebrow. "I don't know about you, but if I give Letty coffee before I give her bad news she looks a lot less like she wants to punch people. If you've got some magical bullshit at your disposal to prevent that, by all means, share with the class."

Dom grunted and shrugged.

"I'd better add bagels", Brian muttered as they moved up a space. _And a blueberry muffin for Mia._

Fifteen minutes later, as Dominic followed Brian up the cement steps to Letty's apartment, the only warning he got was Brian turning his head over his shoulder and saying flatly, "This is gonna go to shit."

Later, maybe several _months_ down the road, Dom would remember this moment, and think about what a glaringly obvious understatement it truly was.

But for now, Dom was oblivious as Mia let them inside.

There was a small packed duffel under Letty's work bag on the bar stool with a jacket draped over the back.

Brian heard the balcony doors close, and turned his head. Letty's eyebrows went up as she took in the surplus of Starbucks treats, and that Apollo hadn't left the couch, his tail wagging warily as if sensing the tension.

"Serial killer?" she asked finally, only half-joking as she took the cup from the tray.

Brian just shook his head. "Possibly worse."

"Who's the body?"

"Letty."

She set her cup down then, mood darkening obviously. "Just tell me."

Brian sighed. "It's Molly Kilpatrick."

Her jaw clenched and she spit out a curse. _"Goddammit."_

"Someone clue me in", Dom said finally, keeping a tight reign on his growing annoyance.

Letty's eyes flitted in his direction. "Right", she said tiredly, seeming to remember one more time, that there was another thing that Dom hadn't been around for. "We'll fill you in on the way. This is gonna be _shit_." Letty turned to find Mia perched on the arm of the couch, pretending to read an old issue of _Cosmo_. "Mia, do you need anything else for Apollo?"

Mia looked up and shook her head. She had a pile of toys, the dog crate, and his bed already piled in her hatchback. "I'll be fine. You three stay out of trouble… is that possible?" she asked shaking her head. "Let me know if you need anything, alright?"

"We'll be fine, Mia", Letty said softly.

Mia snorted a bit disparagingly. "Brian", she prompted.

"On it, Mia", he answered wryly.

"You've been trained well", she nodded.

"I don't need a babysitter", Letty rolled her eyes.

"You _both_ need a babysitter", Mia frowned sternly. " _Dominic_."

Dom's hands went up innocently. "I don't have a badge for that."

Mia's hands went to her waist. "You were not trained well", she complained.

"Disagree", Letty smirked. "I retrained him."

"I'm not a dog", Dom muttered.

"You growl sometimes though", Letty muttered, grabbing her tennis shoes and shoving her feet into them one at a time.

Dom's lips curled back in mock snarl.

Brian hid a smile.

Mia groaned and got up to grab Apollo's leash from the counter. "Go to work. You're all awful."

"Let's move", Letty said, grabbing her things from the kitchen chair.

00

They were five minutes from the FBI building when Dom's cell phone rang. He put it on speakerphone. "Hobbs, we're on our way in."

" _Davis and Roarke found the husband at his office downtown. They're bringing him in. This isn't an interrogation, got it? His wife is dead. Play it by the book or I'm kicking asses."_

"Okay, Red Foreman", Brian grumbled under his breath. _'_ _Foots in asses'_ , he thought blandly.

" _I heard that", Hobbs said dryly. "This family is no picnic, and there's already history so keep a lid on it."_

Letty was banging her forehead on the back of Brian's headrest.

" _Toretto, you can conduct a majority of the – **friendly** – interview. Ortiz, stay behind the glass with me."_

"We'll be there in three minutes", Letty said in the direction of Dom's phone.

"One and a half", Brian countered, smirking slightly.

Dominic groaned. "Next time I'm driving."

" _I'm going to stop taking care of your tickets, O'Conner", Hobbs sighed before hanging up._

"I can't still believe Hobbs is my boss", Dom muttered, sounding more incredulous than irritated.

"Your welcome", Letty said dryly from the backseat.

"Yeah… you don't want to know who they were going to give that position to", Brian said grimly. "We all would have gotten fired… repeatedly."

" _How-_?" Dom shook his head, choosing not to finish the question ' _how do you get fired multiple times?'_. "Never mind."

"Brian's just happy Stasiak got transferred to San Francisco", Letty drawled.

"Stasiak was an ass-kissing shit-stick", Brian said flatly.

"Best friends, huh", Dom snorted.

Brian's eyes just rolled.

0

Ten minutes later, Dom followed Brian into interview room three.

"Tom Crenshaw", Brian said walking into the room. "Agent O'Conner… do you remember me? This is my partner Agent Toretto."

Dominic got his first good look at Tom Crenshaw, age forty-one, computer systems analyst: short, spiky brown hair, green eyes, the file said the man was six-feet tall. He was sitting in the metal chair, but he was slightly muscular in build, and Dom could see the man was used to taking up space in a room.

"I remember you, Agent O'Conner." _Of course he remembered. They'd accused him of murdering his mother._

"Your son, Tanner… he's twelve now, right? Is someone taking care of him?" Brian asked quietly.

"Tanner is with my brother." Tom said quietly. "Where's your girl?" he asked after a minute, staring toward the reflective glass wall.

"You seem awfully unconcerned about your _dead_ _wife_ ", Brian said sharply.

"Hey, if I get a choice to stare at a pretty face over yours-"

"You probably piss off a lot of people talking like you're still in a frat house in college, don't you, Tom?"

Dominic sent a warning look at Brian. "Tom, how about you give us a run-down of your day", he said calmly.

Tom Crenshaw started to talk, his cavalier attitude dissipating. It started with his alarm going off, and ended with the agents coming to his work. He said he saw Molly at home around seven-thirty before he left for work that morning, and that he spoke to her on the phone around eleven when she called to ask him about dinner.

"Is there anything else you can tell us, Tom?" Brian asked finally.

Tom raked his hands over his face, letting out a harsh breath. "Molly and I had our problems, you know… but we've been together since college. We have- had- _god- Tanner._ We had a family. It wasn't perfect, but I loved her. I'd never hurt her. You have to find out who did this."

"We have every intention of finding out who killed your wife", Dom said. "We are very sorry for your loss."

"Can I see her?"

Brian nodded and sent a text on his phone. A minute later, Agent Davis opened the door to the interrogation room. "Agent Davis will take you down to the morgue", he said somberly.

Five minutes later, now on the other side of the double-sided mirror, Dominic stared between Hobbs, Letty, and Brian as he fought back irritation. "Someone tell me what the fuck is going on. _Now._ "

Letty sighed. "Let's do this in my office. Brian-"

"You really want to bring that file back out now?"

"No, but there's a lot of history that may give us motive. If not, we'll at least be able to clear the family members and start fresh."

Brian sighed. "I'll go get the box from Adam in the basement."

"Letty, go start on Molly's timeline for today, and then work backwards for the week. Dom, go see if tech pulled anything off her phone or her other devices", Hobbs delegated. "I'm going to check with Rachel in the morgue. We'll meet back in your office in an hour", he nodded at Letty. "Don't come empty handed."

00

 **A/N: And that would be chapter three! Finally. Let me know what you think! We just stumbled on a murder! **dun-dun-dun****


End file.
